Cheats and Walkthroughs

Cheats and Walkthroughs

Cheats and Walkthroughs

Let’s face it. You’re not even thinking about indie games right now. You’re up to your eyeballs in either fatality codes, potatoes, squad commands, or invading aliens. I’m right there with you, but there are a couple of games coming out this week and in the near future that could use your attentio now.

There are two games here that are dropping on the virtual shelf soon, as well as one game that you could pick up for half price if you act now. If you’re trying to save up for one of those other titles, I’ve given you a freebie for each of the games that you can play right now while saving your pennies.. It’s not like you were going to do anything while you're at work or sitting in class, so you might as well enjoy some indie games. Read on for the alternatives from the flipside of the coin.

Coming out this week is one of the biggest flash game success stories around – Fancy Pants Adventures. Back in 2006, a little guy with some big pants took the Internet by storm by combining platforming, exploration, and just a touch of humor. Since then, there has been a second Fancy Pants World but this will be the game’s first step onto the consoles. Gameplay reminds me of the good parts of Sonic the Hedgehog – speed, exploration, and just enough control to pull off some mighty cool tricks. It’s no wonder that Fancy Pants has been awarded by just about every flash site on the net as well as played by millions of users.

What you should play while waiting (or saving ... the game is out today!):

If you’re a bit low on funds, you can go play Fancy Pants World 1 and World 2 at any local gaming emporium. They’re quick, easy, and well worth your time.

This game starts out with you from the future finding you from the present in front of your television - which is also from the present. Before you can explain anything to yourself, a giant something comes in and scoops up future you, but not before you (future you, not present you) can drop your laser rifle. Unlike most games where a gun generally means hordes of undead somethings coming to attack you, this laser gun helps you to traverse the level. You’re more worried about spikes not spiders, cliffs not criminals, pits not … you get the idea. Firing the gun down propels you in the opposite direction. Traversing the course is often as easy as finding where you want to go and shooting in the opposite direction. The clever design will often have you hurtling yourself onto spikes while the very forgiving save point system allows for a little experimentation. The end of the section greets you with a big boss as well as something you can finally shoot.

The good people over at tinyBuild put the game on Kickstarter to raise some funds and give gamers a chance to preorder the game. To its success, No Time to Explain has already covered more than 200% of it’s goal and is still growing. Anyone looking for a deal will want to check out the five dollar pledge which gives you both the Mac and PC versions of the game for half the price. That’s what I call giving back to your fans.

What you should play while waiting:

If you can’t wait for No Time to Explain, then you can try the original flash version of the game available now and for free.

A point-and-click adventure on a console attracts about as many gamers as a Michele Bachmann swimsuit show. Red Johnson’s Chronicles, however, may be something different. In the steamy noir-scented underbelly of the city, you play a detective trying to crack a case without getting your head cracked open. Like any point-and-click, you snoop around railway stations, hideouts, and other places that two-bit mug of yours doesn’t belong. You’ll also have puzzles to solve as you try to put together clues for your investigation. What I like about Red is the fact that you can get killed. Put your nose where it doesn’t belong and someone’s bound to cut it off. The game seems to have the right atmosphere for a great detective story, but we’ll have to see how it holds up when it comes out for the PSN this week.

What you should play while waiting:

Want that Noir feeling without having to lay down any scratch? Bela Kovacs and The Trail of Blood may be the right game for you. Instead of animation, the developers use real photographs to lay out everything from characters to crime scenes. It really gives this small game a haunting feeling when you’re clicking through a real environment. It won’t take you long to get through this but it’s a great ride while it lasts. If you like the first installment of the game, then you might need to throw a little dough their way to get the rest of the episodes. They also have a Kickstarter account for fans of the game.